Emergency key holder for apparel belts



Aug. 2, 1955 E. ZEITZEW EMERGENCY KEY HOLDER FOR APPAREL BELTS FiledJuly 50, 1952 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 'ENIERGENCY KEY HOLDER FOR APPAREL BELTS EdwardZeitzew, Philadelphia, Pa. Application July 30, 1952, Serial No. 301,6591 Claim. (Cl. 224-26) My invention relates to a new and useful emergencykey holder for apparel belts and has for one of its objects to provide arelatively inexpensive and small article to be worn on a persons belt tohold an extra key or keys inserted and removed through openings that arenormally closed by the belt when the latter is projected therethroughfor connecting the holder to said belt.

In many instances a person inadvertantly locks his or her car or housedoor with the key or keys inside and inaccessible, making it necessaryto break a window or lock to be later repaired, wait for someone havinga duplicate key or employ a locksmith to pick or otherwise actuate thelock, any of which is time wasting, annoying and often expensive.Therefore, another object of this invention is to provide an emergencykey holder which can be carried in a safe place on a belt about apersons body which belt is employed as a utilitarian or ornamental itemin connection with dresses, slacks, trousers, shorts or swimming trunksand the like, to eliminate aggravation, expense and/ or loss of time dueto misplacement or loss of the key or keys which are normally beingused.

Often a person carries an extra key on another bunch which may be lost,has an extra key which may be left in the car or house or attempts tohide the key outside which may be discovered and the car or houserobbed. It is, therefore, another object of the present invention toprovide a key holder which may be applied to a persons belt and leftthere so as to always be accessible in any emergency. This implies thata person should have a key holder and extra key for each belt and thedevice is especially advantageous for salesmen and travelers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a key holder of the kindherein described which may be produced from metal, plastics, leather orother appropriate materials in any suitable configuration, in variouscolors, plain or ornamental and have initials or insignia of any kindthereon suited to the demands of the purchasing public or the desires ofthe manufacturers.

A still further object of this invention is to produce a key holder forapplication to a persons belt which may be constructed as an integralunit or formed of a number of sections subsequently assembled to providea complete article.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists of thedetails of construction and combination of elements hereinafter setforth and then designated by the claim.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this in ventionappertains may understand how to make and use the same I will describeits construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanyingdrawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a belt with a key holder comprising myinvention shown thereon.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view thereof looking towards the frontthereof.

2 Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 with a pair :of keystherein.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 with the addition of apart of .a belt illustrating the manner of closing the openings throughwhich the keys are. inserted .in and removed from the holder.

Fig. 5 he section similar to Fig. 4 after the holder has been removedfrom the belt, turned over and tilted .for removal of a key or keys.

Fig. 6 is a section on the keys and belt.

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied 10 represents theemergency key holder to be mounted on any apparel belt 11 having,preferably, a tapered tongue 12 at one end for attachment to a beltbuckle 13 of any type and style.

The emergency key holder comprises a. relatively small containerconstructed from metal, plastics, leather or other appropriate materialsor combinations of different materials and consisting of a back wall 14,a front wall 15, side walls 16 which, when the holder is on a belt inuse, become top and bottom walls, and end walls 17. The container may beof any desirable configuration and size and, preferably, the depththereof between the front and back walls is sufiicient to hold two keys,for example an extra house door key and one extra automobile door key,although it can be made to hold only one key or more than two keys ormade deep enough to receive and hold various types of keys some of whichmay be quite thick.

In each end wall 17 is formed a slot 18 contiguous the back wall 14whereby said slots are directly in line with each other for the passageof the belt 111 and for the ingress and egress of the keys 19. Actuallyit is preferred that the slots 18 be so located that the back wall 14forms one of the boundaries of each slot whereby only the thickness ofsaid back wall is between the belt and clothing which said belt supportsor is an ornamental accessory to while the space between the plane ofthe slots or belt is sufiicient to provide a chamber to hold the key orkeys.

In practice, the holder while off of the belt is turned until the frontwall 15 is in a generally underneath position at which time a key orkeys can be inserted through either of the slots 18 and will drop intothe key chamber portion of the holder below said slots as shown in Fig.4. The belt 11 is then projected through the: slots between the backwall 14 and the keys in the holder and will close said slots to preventaccidental displacement of the keys and when the belt is fastened thekey holder is securely retained on the person. Whenever it is necessaryor desirable to remove a key for use in an emergency, or otherwise, thebelt is unfastened and the key holder slipped from said belt. Said keyholder is then turned until the back wall 14 is in the generallyunderneath location and slightly tilted, Fig. 5, at which time the thenlowermost key will slide out through the then bottom slot and after thekey has been used it can be immediately replaced and the key holderreturned to its mounting upon the belt for safe keeping upon the personuntil another emergency arises.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided anexceedingly simple, economical and compact emergency key holder whichwill safely keep one or more extra keys always on the person constantlyready for immediate use when the occasion arises.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details ofconstruction herein shown and described as these may be varied withinthe scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and useful is:

An emergency key holder comprising a key container the line 6-6 of Fig.4 without vfunction as a support for said key including front back, sideand end walls, said end walls having access slots parallel with andcontiguous the back wall as the only ways whereby keys may be passedinto and out of said container, incombinatio'n with an'apparel belt of asize to snugly fit and close said access slots and container When thelatter is assembled on said belt, the front wall of the key containerbeing spaced a distance from the plane comaccess may be had only whenthe key container and belt are disconnected.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS RossMay 20, 1924 Kelly May 26, 1925 Kasting Sept. 3, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTSGermany Nov. 9, 1950-

